F is for ...

Friday.. the end of a frantic week..and time to take a walk in one of our local National Trust favourites .. the gardens at Holt Wiltshire..Firey fronds and foliage dominate the landscape ..Clusters of fine berries ...Ginko Bilboa.. good for mental fuzziness ..Fire on the water ...A leafy frame to peer through ..A flutterby ... Foliage on fire ...Pretty frothy flowers ..Falling leaves...
Frilly lace caps...Fronds on fire ...A fine harvest...Finally.. my fella ..Before I say farewell.. Milly and I would like to bring your attention to our new Christmas Grotto.. full of finery and fun finds .. for the festive season.. We would also like to bring your attention to some features about our Emporium, to be found in various glossies this month.. Homes & Gardens, Sew Hip and Homes & Antiques..
Not forgetting.. the famous Vintage & Handmade Fair.. only a fortnight to go before we welcome our friends, family and folk from far and wide to come and shop in our third fair..
Fun for all.. hope to see you there!

Downhill run ...

These last few weeks have left me feeling like I am competing in some kind of ski event.. the momentum and pace has increased day by day.. and I must admit.. I can't wait for the apres ski to begin.. but there are many things to do before that is allowed.
I did however find time to leave the slopes and have a grand day out with Mr Custard to visit an event I had been looking forward to for some weeks.
With small brown suitcase in hand we had one stop to make en route to the event.. and our first port of call was this delightful emporium in Cirencester.. Lexi Loves. Now the whole world of cyber networking has brought me many many fortunes.. in the way of friendships and acquaintances.. and yes... I must admit business matters too. I do have a small confession to make.. for those of you who do not already know.. I have joined the nest of Twitter and have bunked off to join in the daily twitterings amongst this hugely popular network.
It is through this feathered fraternity.. that I made the connection with this lovely shop in Cirencester owned by the equally lovely Lexi.. Lexi's emporium in Cricklade Street, is a sight for tired eyes (as mine have been of late) and on entering the shop... one is immediately aware of the spectrum of colours from all the enticing items for sale.. from floral fabric alphabet letters arranged along a shelf..to the cheery bunting and assortment of gorgeous vintagey cushions with plenty more besides... so much to tempt with perfect stocking filler finds for Christmas.
I am delighted to say that Lexi Loves now stocks Cowboys & Custard Greeting cards... so I hope to visit this pretty emporium again soon.
On our way back to the car park.. we nipped in to the New Brewery Arts Centre to see the latest exhibition of Cleo Mussi's work. If you are not familiar with this lasses incredible talent with mosaics.. then I urge you to go.
It took two years in the making to create these, and many more, fabulous china mosaics that combine Cleo's wit and talent to transform broken china in to these..This photo really doesn't do justice to the detail and scale of these ceramic creatures. Having taken part in one of Cleo's mosaic workshops some years ago.. I am only too aware of how skillful it is to cut a piece of china to just the right size and shape with a pair of tile cutters. My efforts ended up on the other side of the room on the floor.. It takes great precision and practice.
These animals were virtually life size so they must have required hours in the making.. no.. make that months..We are BIG fans of Cleo's work in this household and are lucky enough to own a few of her pieces.. but there is plenty more wall space to accommodate a few more!
Back in the old jalopy and on to Stroud..where we were to visit this very exciting exhibition..
Having several of my favourite artists exhibit under one roof for the same exhibition was quite a lot for my little heart to take.. and my pace quickened as we found our way through the streets of Stroud to Sustain ...Once again Cleo Mussi's work was on display and Cleo herself was there to chat too..Edwina Bridgeman.. another much admired artist and friend had some pieces of work on display..and lastly..our very own Annie from Little Wren House.. or her blog a Saucerful of Secrets.. was there with these extraordinary felted characters... I couldn't take my eyes of this fabulous Pug dog.. marvelling at the detail in the face all created from wisps of needle felted wool.We are very proud to have Annie and her felted friends at the Vintage & Handmade Fair.. coming soon!!!
And on that note.. I have finally woken up to the fact that it is only 24..24 days until the fair and my mountain of boxes and vintage finds will have to be sorted, priced and packed.
I am busy making some of these Quite a few of these will be coming along too..Things in the Milly & Dottie's Emporium are getting rather frenzied too.. and Milly and I have been working like Santa's little helpers to stock the shelves for a new Christmas Department.. opening very soon.. so watch this space.

Going to the Dogs..

Is there such a thing as Blogger's Block? I have been suffering from a complete lack of focus for the last few weeks and the idea of writing a blog post was akin to the days when I had to hand in an English essay on a Monday morning.
I would postpone this task until the 11th hour and then hand in some crumpled, grubby and illegible piece of work and wince when I saw a big red C+.. could do better scrawled over my efforts. I hope this very belated blog post gets a better mark!

It has been a while since I have managed to clear a space in my mind to give thought to the blogging world and I hardly dare look at all the blog posts of yours I have missed.. Will I ever catch up? Then answer to that is a resounding NO.. not until the current projects have been painted and glued, packaged and priced for the next Vintage & Handmade Fair and some tasty little vintage goodies placed upon the shelves in the Emporium. Spinning plates madly here and dropping quite a few along the way!
I am prone to mild obsessions..harmless enough I think, despite what Mr Custard and son say, I still have all my marbles..o.k one or two might be missing..but on the whole, my little fixations are all for a good cause I feel.
The latest of these obsessions is more than a passing interest in all things vintage, mohair, straw-filled and moth eaten..sometimes with wonky eyes or dodgy limbs..the more chewed the better!
I would like to introduce my new friends.. meet the gang..
First in the pound today is Winston.. Winston is true rough diamond but with a heart of gold and a bit of a dubious past.. Some rumour of him doing time in Battersea Dogs Home for digging up some prize petunias!
Next on the 'dogwalk' is Terence.. Terence has gone to a new home

A retired air steward for Dan Dare airlines... traveled the world and then some ..He enjoys reading Mutt Monthly and ballroom dancing.
Jock is a very fine pedigree pooch.. He is a veteran model for a pyjama case manufacturer.. made by Merrythought. Jock loves nothing more than to lie around all day and strike a pose! Currently, he can be found lounging in the nursery department at Milly & Dottie's..
I know I shouldn't have favourites.. it is a bone of contention amongst the other hounds.. but I am rather fond of dear old Angus.. Who could resist his jaunty legs and sharp nose... I wonder if I could train him for the odd bit of truffle snuffling ?! Angus along with some other muttley crew will be joining me at the Vintage & Handmade Fair and any offers of adoption will seriously be considered. They are costing me a fortune in Bonios!
Well.. I think this blog post proves that I have lost the plot.. totally barking some might say.

P.s Thank you so much for all your kind thoughts and commiserations about my old tooth problem. Much better now thank you and getting my gnashers well and truly stuck in to some projects for the festive season.
Wishing you all the best of Sundays.